Football | 9/14/2013 6:18:00 PM
Box Score FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. –
Vaughn Cross' 19-yard touchdown reception with 2:51 to play broke a 34-34 tie and lifted the Methodist football team to a 41-34 win over Guilford on Saturday afternoon at Monarch Stadium.
After Guilford (1-1) tie the game at 34-34 with 4:45 remaining in the game, the Quakers attempted an onside kick that Methodist recovered at its own 45. Aided by a pass interference penalty and the resulting new set of downs, as well as a 14-yard screen pass from
Max Reber to
Darius Page, the Monarchs found themselves with a 2nd-and-9 from the 19 yard line when Reber found Cross down the right sideline for the game-winning score.
On Guilford's ensuing drive, the Quakers quickly moved the ball from their own 35-yard line to the Monarchs' 22 yard line following a 20-yard scramble by GC quarterback Matt Pawlowski. Following three straight incompletions, GC faced 4th-and-10 from the 22 with 1:01 to play. Pawlowski was then sacked by
Mike Jones and
B.J. Minter for a loss of 10 yards and MU ran out the clock to improve to 2-0 on the season.
In the first half, MU fell behind 7-0 after Pawlowski hooked up with Nick Mearite from seven yards out for the game's first score at the 10:06 mark. The Monarchs responded with a 9-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a
Patrick Jacobs 23-yard touchdown reception to even the contest at 7-7.
Cody Ausherman added a 25-yard field goal with 1:44 left to play in the opening stanza to put MU up 10-7.
Tyler Hunt's 43-yard field goal midway through the second quarter tied the game at 10-10 and GC looked poised to take the lead heading into the break before MU came up with a big play on special teams. Hunt lined up for a 34-yard field goal with under a minute to play in the half, but MU came up with a block and
Tyler Mitchell scooped up the loose ball, returning it 41 yards to Guilford's 38-yard line. Reber then hit
Blake Scott with a 22-yard scoring strike to give MU a 17-10 lead at the break.
The Monarchs opened up a 10-point lead following a 33-yard Ausherman field goal with 12:10 left in the third quarter. Pawlowski's 23-yard pass to Adam Smith at the 5:19 mark trimmed the Monarch lead to 20-17 before
Darius Page scored on a 4-yard run to push MU's advantage back to 10 points at 27-17 with 3:51 left in the quarter.
Guilford answered once again however, this time courtesy of a Schow 25-yard scamper that made it a 27-24 game with 20 seconds to play in the third. Hunt booted his second field goal of the game, a 23-yarder, to tie the game at 27-27 with just under 12 minutes to play.
Methodist needed little time on its ensuing drive to take the lead once more as Reber picked up a bobbled snap and rushed 74 yards for a touchdown to make it 34-27 at the 10:31 mark. Schow's 2-yard run with 4:45 to play tied the game at 34-34 and set up the Monarchs' final drive.
Reber finished 28-of-42 through the air for 318 yards and three scores with one interception. He also ran for 104 yards and one TD on 11 carries. Cross finished with 121 yards receiving on seven catches with one touchdown. Jacobs had 76 yards on eight grabs with a score and Scott chipped in 60 yards on five receptions with one touchdown. Page finished with 73 yards on 23 carries on the ground.
Defensively,
D.J. Payne led the defense with 14 tackles, including 1.0 for loss and two pass breakups.
Justin Davis had seven tackles and
LeTovis Davis,
Marlon Thomas, and
Navahri Holden added six stops apiece.
For Guilford, Pawlowski finished 26-for-50 for 270 yards through the air. He tossed a pair of touchdowns and added 72 yards rushing on 18 carries. Schow led all players with 170 yards rushing on 26 attempts and two touchdowns. Adam Smith hauled in 10 passes for 98 yards and a score and Mearite had 49 yards on six grabs and a touchdown.
Hunter English led the Quakers with nine tackles, including 1.5 for loss and an interception. Alex Smith and Mitch Stratton had eight tackles apiece.
The Monarchs will look to go to 3-0 for the first time since 2000 when they host Emory & Henry next Saturday at 1:00 pm.
